


moon stew

by blifuys



Series: Café de la Lune - an anthology [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Drabble, Fluff, Food, In which Tsukki cooks and Kuroo's in love, M/M, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 08:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blifuys/pseuds/blifuys
Summary: Kuroo knows there isn’t anything special today, so to see his boyfriend standing in front of the collection side of the counter a couple of hours before lunchtime was a little strange. He knows for a fact that Kei would usually be seated in a nearby café or library, already hard at work. But that’s not what’s happening today.Here he was. In the daytime. The macarons in his display case didn’t even need to be restocked just yet and those ran out stupidly quick.





	moon stew

**Author's Note:**

> I actually am really into the Kurotsukki cafe au i have, so you guys will have to suffer from these drabbles for a while as i kick this semester into submission--
> 
> (more like it's kicking ME into submission, but w/e.)
> 
> Also: UPDATE ON THIRTEEN MONTHS, chapter 4 is finally in the works! I hope to update by the end of November, so keep an eye on that! 
> 
> As always, thank you for your support, and please leave a comment and kudos if you liked this work! uwu

“—So here I am.”

Kuroo doesn’t know what to think. Usually, Kei wouldn’t even _be_ in his café this early, too busy racing against an impending deadline – working on his paper well into the evening until it was far too late for him to stay at whichever café he had parked himself at for the day. No matter how many times Kuroo tells him that Café de la Lune’s open to him for free Wi-Fi and drinks, his sweet and silently feisty boyfriend _refuses_.

Something about not wanting to distract Kuroo at work. But who cares? Kuroo’s already distracted enough trying to squeeze in three hundred pictures of the adorable dog that always passes by his café at exactly 10:43am – the one that could pass as a polar bear with how its fur looked like snow. What’s a little extra distraction from the one and only _Tsukishima Kei_, light of his life, apple of his eye, fire in his loins—

Woah. Okay. Too much.

Kuroo knows there isn’t anything special today, so to see his boyfriend standing in front of the collection side of the counter a couple of hours before lunchtime was a little strange. He knows for a fact that Kei would usually be seated in a nearby café or library, already hard at work. But that’s not what’s happening today.

Here he was. _In the daytime_. The macarons in his display case didn’t even need to be restocked just yet and those ran out stupidly quick.

“Could you try a little bit?” Kei pulls off the nice orange-and-white checkered cloth he tied around a small cast iron pot he brought in with him, and Kuroo swears he smells something _delicious_, something deliciously savoury wafting through the air the moment his boyfriend pulls off the lid.

Which is already very strange. _Extremely_ strange. Kei _never_ cooks, firstly. Perhaps he would have, early into their relationship, but life throws you off-path every now and then, and Kuroo eventually adopted the role of chef between them both.

As he nods and pulls up a bowl from under the counter, the savoury tomato scent tickles his nose, and a second red flag goes off in his head. The second reason why Tsukishima Kei _never_ cooks is because he, pardon his French, _sucks_ at cooking. Kuroo never quite forgot the sorry incident that was his 24th birthday, where Tsukki attempted to grill his favourite mackerel pike.

That day ended with a pan long rid of salvation and a very grumpy-pouty Tsukki hiding under the blanket, alongside any hope from Kuroo that he’d receive any home-cooked meals anytime soon.

“What’s the occasion?” Kuroo smiles as he hands the red-and-black bowl to his boyfriend, watching his blonde partner scoop up little chunks of potato and onion alongside tomato soup. He leans on his counter, face up close and personal like a curious cat watching his owner work.

“Nothing. Just felt like trying out a recipe I found in my notebooks.” Kei reaches to the side of the counter and pulls a shiny, polished metal spoon from the cutlery rack, dumping the wide part of it into the bowl and then holding the dish out to Kuroo. The black-haired man knew that <strike>his future brother-in-law</strike> Akiteru had passed on a huge stack of unused notebooks to his _dearest little brother_, but had probably forgotten that he scribbled something on a page before handing them over.

Eh. Couldn’t go wrong, right?

Kuroo pinches the flat handle of the spoon between his thumb and finger, scooping some of the stew up before shoving it into his mouth. Truthfully, he’s a little hungry, having gone without that extra slice of toast in the morning before throwing himself into baking the entire menu for the display case. He’s greeted with the most delicious mix of sweet and savoury, a symphony of flavour melting in his mouth to create the best tomato stew he’s had in a long time.

And Kei could probably see it too, judging from how closely he’s watching Kuroo’s face.

“Well?” The blonde asks, and Kuroo could hear it—that quiet quiver in his voice that gives away just how nervous Kei is. He probably knows how bad he is at cooking as well, and more than anything, it melts Kuroo’s heart with warmth, knowing that Kei desperately didn’t want to give his boyfriend a free trip to the hospital.

“It’s really, really good,” Kuroo swallows, his lips curling into a toothy grin as he nods in approval. “Babe, it’s really good, like? I’m _pretty _sure if I sold this, it’ll be the best item on the menu.”

Nothing brightens Kuroo’s day up more than watching Kei’s face tinge red—probably as red as the tomato stew that he’s quickly inhaling down to the very last drop. Once he’s done, he places the bowl down on the smooth countertop, patting his stomach with a satisfying _pap. _

“You’re exaggerating,” Kei mutters as he adverts his gaze out the large window, keeping his honey-brown gaze outside. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuroo sees a white ball of fuzz trot by, but he’s too busy today to coo at it from behind the glass pane. “My cooking’s not that good.”

Today, he’s got someone a lot more important to coo over, of course.

“It was delicious, but you know what I’m _really _craving for?” Kuroo’s smile softens, and he feels his heart melt when he allows himself to stare and appreciate just how beautiful Kei is like this – soft around the edges and pink with embarrassment. It’s hard to stop himself, plus he’s sure his customers wouldn’t mind. Kuroo lifts a hand up as he rubs his thumb between Kei’s brows, soothing out the frown that seems to be permanently stuck to his face.

“What?” He feels Kei’s frown smooth out under his thumb, it’s just so domestic. It’s perfect. He wants more, and it’s everything he already wants at the same time. Kuroo drops his hand to Kei’s neck, as he pulls him closer—bringing his own face close enough that their noses brush.

“Strawberries.” Kuroo replies, and he closes his eyes, bringing his lips to that warm and soft sensation he constantly aches for, whenever Kei was away from him for too long.

The next week, there’s a new addition to the blackboard hanging above Kuroo’s counter, a carefully-drawn chalk drawing of a bowl of stew proudly displayed to the customers that stroll in one-by-one, attracted to the warm, comforting and domestic Café de la Lune.

_Moon Stew set - ¥600._

**Author's Note:**

> [come say hi!](https://twitter.com/nekohmy)


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